Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device, a network system, and a power supply control program, and more particularly, to an image forming device having a server function, a network system including the image forming device, and a power supply control program for controlling the state of the power supply to the hardware of the image forming device.
Description of the Related Art
MFPs (Multi-Functional Peripherals) having a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, and the like are widely used these days. Such an MFP includes a necessary storage as a server, and also has a network connection function, a user authentication function, and the like. Having such structures, these MFPs can be made to function as servers, and the use of the MFPs can lower the initial costs of network system installation in small businesses and branch offices.
A system may also be constructed by connecting the MFPs that have server functions and are installed in offices (departments or branches) to a cloud server or the like that manages all the MFPs via a network. In such a system, a user can collectively check the data of the MFPs installed in his/her office and the data of the cloud server simply by accessing an MFP installed in his/her office. A user can also use cloud services. Furthermore, data can be easily separated into the data to be shared among all the users allowed to access the system, and the data to be used only by the user(s) authorized to access a particular MFP. Thus, data management becomes easier.
To shorten the standby time before a printed material is output, an MFP performs control so that the fixing unit for fixing a toner image formed on a paper sheet is maintained at a certain temperature, for example. As a result, the power consumption in the ready state becomes larger. In view of this, when a non-use state continues for a certain period of time, the image forming device is switched from the ready state to a sleep state in which less power is consumed. Thus, power consumption is reduced.
As for such sleep state control, JP 2014-127868 A discloses an image forming device that includes: hardware modules that can be subjected to power control independently of one another; a detecting unit that detects one or more pieces of application software customized by the user of the image forming device among pieces of application software to be executed in the image forming device; a determining unit that determines sleep states for the respective hardware modules in accordance with the type(s) of the one or more pieces of application software; and a power control unit that controls sleep operations of the hardware modules independently of one another, in accordance with results of the determination performed by the determining unit.
In a case where a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, or the like of an MFP is to be used, it is necessary to supply power to all the hardware including the engine. When the server function of an MFP is to be used, however, only reading of data from a storage unit and writing of data into the storage unit have to be enabled, and there is no need to supply power to the hardware such as an engine.
In a conventional control operation, however, an MFP in a sleep state returns to a ready state from the sleep state upon receipt of a predetermined packet from a host device connected to the network, and then supplies power to all the hardware. That is, although the hardware for image processing is not necessary when the server function of an MFP is used, power is supplied to all the hardware in the same manner as in a case where a printer function, a copy function, a scanner function, or the like is used. As a result, the MFP cannot be efficiently operated.
To counter this problem, JP 2014-127868 A discloses a technology for performing power supply control on hardware modules separately from one another. In a case where sleep states are set according to this technology and only a server function is to be used, power is supplied only to the necessary hardware (storages such as the CPU and an HDD).
However, an MFP that has received a request for use of a server function is not capable of determining whether the request is a request for use of the server function of its own device, and whether the request is a request for use of a server function of an external device such as a cloud server. As a result, even in a case where such an MFP receives a request for use of a server function of an external device, the MFP supplies power to the unnecessary hardware (a storage such as an HDD), to make the server function of its own device available. Because of this, the MFP cannot be efficiently operated.